We study the evolution of patenting in China from 1985-2019. We use a Large Language Model to measure patent importance based on patent abstracts and classify patent ownership using a comprehensive business registry. We highlight four insights. First, average patent importance declined from...

We study the blocking effect of patents on follow-on innovation by others. We posit that follow-on innovation requires freedom to operate (FTO), which firms typically obtain through a license from the patentee holding the original innovation. Where licensing fails, follow-on innovation is...

Based on the patent data from China National Intellectual Property Administration, we attempt to examine the effect of gender diversity in inventor teams on patent quality. We argue that gender diversity in inventor teams can promote patent quality, especially the invention patents that are high...